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With the Imminent Unveiling of Dr Isatou Touray as Presidential Candidate, a Dawn has broke in Gambian Politics

Another dawn broke in not only Gambian politics, but the society in general with the imminent unveiling of Dr Isatou Touray as an independent Presidential candidate in the forthcoming December presidential election in the Gambia. Dr Touray is the first female in the history of the Gambia to become a presidential candidate in the country. This is something to celebrate in one of the most conservative society when it comes to female matters.

Dr Isatou Touray is the co-founder and the Executive Director of Gambia Committee against Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), and a Women’s Rights Activist working on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in Africa and the Diaspora. She coordinates the Women and Law Project of the Network of Women living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) in the Gambia. Dr Touray has always engaged in networking and building alliances and coalitions to end violence against women and calling for Equality and Justice in the Family.

Dr Touray spent her entire life fighting to abolish FGM in the Gambia, she sacrifices her life, resources and time to see an end to bad traditional practises like FGM and violence against women. She at one time was labelled by some of our conservative religious leaders like Imam Fatty as a non-believer in God, i.e “Kafir” all because of her stand to see an end to social injustices against women and children in the country. Against all those misogynistic views directed at her and her peers, she continued to fight to see an end to FGM and her efforts were complemented in 2015 when President Jammeh announced the end of FGM practices in the Gambia.

In a society where men’s views are valued more than women, where men are always the head of households and institutions or where women are always asked to take the back seat, Dr Touray’s achievement should be a cause for celebration for all those progressive minded people in our society. As a father to a girl child, Dr Touray’s moved to become the first female presidential candidate in the Gambia has rejuvenated my belief that my daughter or any other woman in the country is not less equal to any man in our society. We hope this will be the beginning of a new era in Gambian politics where women will be occupying front seats instead of back seats.

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I'm a Gambian who wants one thing and only one thing, JUSTICE for my comrades, #10/11Apr2000 Victims.
On the 10th and 11th of April 2000, Sixteen (16) students, including a Red Cross volunteer were gunned down in the Gambia, broad daylight by the security forces, since then, the killers have been indemnified from prosecution by the Yahya Jammeh's government.
Gambia Voices is setup to seek justice for the students that were killed, maimed, tortured and jailed for only exercising their constitutional rights, by peacefully protesting and seeking answers from the authorities for the brutal killing a student Ebrima Barry and the raped of another student by security forces in the Gambia respectively.
Of course, the fight for justice goes further than that, as it include all other injustices that were and are being carried out on daily basis against the people of the Gambia. No relenting in our efforts to see justice serve for the #10/11Apr2000 victims.
Human rights are God given so we should all strive to uphold them. Each and everyone is welcome to join us in our fight and to give voice to all those voiceless Gambians regardless of their political, tribal, religious, race, gender, sex and age. You have a story to tell, feel free to contact us, be rest assured your privacy will be protected.
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